I'm currently looking at buying/building a new PC and a SSD seems to be the way to go for fast boot up. However due to expense a massive one is out of the question. Also confused by memory requirements.

So what size do I need?

I enjoy playing games and have read that there can be issues with the number you have on the system. Do they have to be stored on the SSD or can they be put on the standard hard drive (accepting that they may be a tad slower, I presume)? If they have to go on the main drive (SSD) then how much space is needed for the OS (Windows 7, poss upgrade to 8).

Now, Memory! DDR3 seems to be standard but there are different speeds available, presumably faster is better but can you compensate by getting more of the slower (ie 1333MHz in place of 1600MHz) and is it cheaper to go that way (so many types and technical babble!!!!!).

You may have guessed I am not a computer expert so apologies for asking what may be obvious :(

I'm in the same boat. I know computers but I need to brush up on the latest specs so not 100%. I'm looking at getting either a 128gb/256gb SSD then using my old HDD as secondary for all my photos, videos, etc. You're fine to install anything you want on the drive. I've asked a mate who has one about how they come in different speeds but he reckons you'll barely notice it. Just buy the one you can afford and is most reasonable. just remember if you're running Windows 7/8 to turn off auto Defrag. SSD's don't need it and I've heard it can shorten their lifespan

Any SSD will be quicker than a spinning disk, so realistically you "can't go wrong" with any. Once you've got your OS on an SSD, you can install other programs on any drive you like. At the moment, I have a 64GB SSD for Windows 7 (there's 24 free at the moment), a 128GB SSD for games and stuff that I like to launch quickly, and a 1TB standard hard drive for bulk storage (photos, videos, etc). I think that as long as you do a fresh installation of Windows onto the SSD, it'll pick up that things like auto defrag should be turned off. It can shorten the lifespan in theory because it'll be using up write cycles for zero benefit (SSDs don't need defragmenting as the random access times are in the order of fractions of milliseconds). Whether it shortens it enough to affect the actual lifespan depends on the drive and how many write cycles it's rated for.

With memory, personally I'd rather have more of the slower variety than less of the faster, because realistically the "slow" memory is still "pretty damn fast" anyway. So if the choice was 8GB of 1333MHz or 4GB of 1600MHz, I'd go for the slower 8GB every time.

I have a 128gig Samsung 830 for Windows, main apps and games. I currently have 50gig free. However, I only have my current games on it, once I am bored I uninstall them. I then have several other physical hard drives for storage.

So unless you want to install every game and program under the sun 128 gig would be fine, imo. Quite reasonably priced too now and a great upgrade.

Thanks for the info. I was looking at 128GB and 256GB drives, probably go for the 128 as it sounds like that will be more than enough. Saving a bit on that should allow a bigger standard hard drive.

The memory speed is decided by your processor/MB spec, you must use memory that is the correct spec or you will get problems with boot up and random freezes. If you are going down the overclock route then you will need better spec memory. I have lost count of the number of callouts I have done to PCs that will not boot due to poor/too low spec memory. Also make sure the PSU is up to the job for your current spec and if you will be thinking of uping the memory in the future. The ideal way is a "bare bones" system and then spec up from there as this will already have the correct basics. Companies I use lots are Novatech or Scan.

John

For me I'll be looking for a 128GB for windows boot up and odd annoying programs which cannot be installed on other drives. Current prices are about 50-60p per GBs. Upper end of the scale are probably Intel drives and the cheaper San disk, OCZ, Crucial and Kingston keep popping up on sales. You want to look out for the IOPS speeds and reliability issues. Seems to be bit of a minefield atm, except for the intels so I've heard..

If theres anymore info on the front by more knowledgeable people then please let us know.

Couple SSD with normal drive for data.

RAM is having a bit of a price drop atm so 8gbs 9-9-9-24 @ 1600mhz can be had ~£30 (was in the £40s). Waiting for my matching pair to make 16gbs. can never have enough ram.

gfx - think theres going to be a price drop on ATI? within the month i think from reading it somewhere. im looking at the 6850 model. think the 1st and 3rd digit represents class, 2nd represents generations? Different brands have same model but clocked differently.

Just on this subject has anyone used a CF card to replace a small SSD?

I've had some issues with one of our netbooks over the weekend that I thinnk may be SSD related (or possibly memory related - it's hard to tell - it's an intermittent catastrophoc failure and sometimes it re-boots but sometimes not so I've removed and re-seated all the memory and SSD and it seems to be working again).

Anyhow, back on topic, I have seen adapters advertised to allow CF cards to be used as SSD so anyone with any experience

More suited for embedded applications, I think, CF can't do the same kind of sustained write speed as a regular SSD. I also don't think they support TRIM when used with adapters, so the performance would degrade over time. As I understand it, anyway.

You can put a CF in an utilise the readyboost functions of Win7 but tbh if you've got more than 2Gb it doesn't do much.

To figure out which memory to use if you go to Crucial.com they have a memory finder tool. You can then go and find the best deal on it somewhere else.

Don't pay extra for the suer high spec stuff. Unless you plan to do a lot of overclocking it's wasted money. Just look for the lifetime warranty form one of the bigger brands.

Here is a cheap SSD to start with (£30). More than big enough as a boot drive. I've got one in my old laptop and it flies.

http://www.hotukdeal...s-28-47-1331150

Or a Sandisk 128Gb (£55)

http://www.hotukdeal...ed-sold-1330664

There are SSD deals on there pretty much every day. the market has taken off since normal hard disk prices went through the roof.

Edited 9 October, 201213 yr by Aspman